by Sam Reed
Chief Sealth International High School
Athletic Director/Activity Coordinator

It is my belief that the 2012 spring sports season at Chief Sealth International High School will be one that sets a new standard for excellence and success and will be a season that we look back on as a building block toward growing the premier athletic program in Seattle Public Schools.

This group of Seahawk student-athletes, totaling 262, pushed each other in and out of competition, represented the school well in League, District and State, is set to graduate a great group Seniors that have laid a strong foundation, and yet have prepared a young squad of competitors set to build on these successes. Thanks to the hard work of those athletes, a tremendous group of coaches, and great crowd support, the 2012 spring sports season sure was a lot of fun!

Let’s begin on the diamond where head coach Ernest Policarpio and the boys baseball team showed they could compete with any team in the state, notching regular season wins over strong programs like Bishop Blanchet, Bainbridge and West Seattle. They finished 2nd in the Metro Sound Division (12-8 overall) and headed into the playoffs looking for that elusive berth into the State tournament. The season ultimately ended at the hands of a strong O’Dea team who came from behind to pull out a 4-3 win. Seniors Kyle Castillo, CJ Hicks (both 1st team all-league), Nic Layton (2nd team) and Lucas Boyd (honorable mention) supplied great leadership this season and will now turn over the reins to Aiden Behar (Jr, 1st team), Max Sarver (Jr, 2nd team), Izac Bauer (So, 2nd team) and others as they continue to build for a Metro League title.

Moving across the diamond, the softball team and head coach Mike Depew will be hoisting a banner next season, part of the reward for claiming the 2012 Metro Sound Division title. The girls went undefeated in division (14-6 overall) and finished 4th in the Metro League tournament before falling to Liberty in Districts. All-league honors went to Malia Dewey (All-Metro), Chloe Behar, PJ Savusa, and Averie Mascarinas (each All-Division). The girls should be set to defend their crown next season as only Savusa is graduating, and the team ushered in a new group of players including 9th graders Megan Hafermann, Sophie and Livvy Boyd, and Xiu Xiu Bunting.

A record number of athletes turned out on the first day of tennis this spring, much to the delight of head coach Lew Kiner. “Coach K” had a lot of bodies to work with and is confident that this season was just the tip of the iceberg as to what is possible for Chief Sealth tennis. Outstanding freshmen Maria Nguyen went undefeated in the regular season, earned the 3rd seed in the Metro tournament and ultimately was the only singles player – male or female – from a Seattle Public School to qualify for the District Tournament. Maria was joined in post-season play by the doubles pair of Maddy Twombley and Zoe Haywood. Boys singles player Enrico Bowden continued to improve and should be there next year as well.

Never ran track before? No worries – just come out your senior year, pace the league in three events and ultimately earn a State medal after just three months of practice. That’s what Pepé Hernandez did, winning the Metro championship in the high jump, qualifying for Districts in that, the long jump and the triple jump and finishing 8th in State in the high jump under the coaching of Lorna Considine and Asosa Sailiai. As a whole, the track and field team had their best season in years thanks to the contributions of many, including seniors Hila Gross (State qualifier; discus), Terry Jeffries (Districts; triple jump), and juniors Dominique Prater (Metro Champ, State; shot put), and Joe Thayer (Metros; 400m). Many other younger athletes will be back again next year as well.

No wrap-up would be complete without touching on the successes of the boys soccer team who earned every ounce of publicity and success they achieved this season. Metro Coach of the Year Ron Johnson had probably his most talented team ever, and used that talent and great chemistry to win the Metro League Sound Division (14-1-1 overall), finish 3rd in the Metro League tournament and qualify for the State tournament for the first time in school history. It became obvious early in the season that this was a team to be reckoned with, and the Seattle Times picked up on it, ranking the Seahawks as high as high as 4th in 3A during league play. Overall the boys outscored their opponents 66-9, before falling 2-1 to then #1 Shorewood in State play. Junior Mori Tsuchiya earned Metro Sound MVP honors, while a host of others claimed all-division honors including seniors Antonio Garcia, Neville Mensur, Simon Crean, Brandon Rosario, Aden Fidow and captain Dillon Zang. Kristian Nilssen, Xahil McDonald, Sean Umeda, Abel Madrigal, Eduardo Cardoza, and Tsuchiya also were named all-division and will be back next year to ensure that the 2012 season was just the beginning for our boys soccer team.

It’s the spring sports season that often reminds me just how lucky I am to be a part of the Chief Sealth community. On any given day I can walk across the street to the first-class Southwest Athletic Complex to watch as many as six athletic contests happening at one time. But it’s more than that. While it’s in those contests that our student-athletes compete, it’s in the classroom where many reach even greater successes, such as 2012 graduate and class valedictorian Logan Smith (boys soccer). The strong majority of our student-athletes are moving on to further education, and while some will be participating in athletics, all will be taking what they learned in the classroom and in competition with them, better prepared for success because of all they’ve done while students at Chief Sealth International High School.